-----Original Message----- From: owner-ifip_ga@ifip.or.at [mailto:owner-ifip_ga@ifip.or.at]On Behalf Of Plamen Nedkov Sent: quinta-feira, 19 de Setembro de 2002 11:24 To: all Subject: [IFIP] Information Release-UNESCO, WITFOR, WSIS
19 September 2002, Laxenburg -- Two days ago, UNESCO Headquarters distributed in English and French the "UNESCO-IFIP World Computer Congress 2002 Youth Declaration" [ref. http://www.ifip.or.at/minutes/ga2002/youth_declaration.pdf ] to its 188 Member countries by way of their National commissions, field offices, permanent delegations and partners. The accompanying note highlights the importance for governments to include in national ICT policies the development of ICT skills for young people and provides links to the web sites of IFIP, the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) and Fédération de l'informatique du Québec (FIQ). "Young people are at the forefront of technological innovation and development" was declared during the IFIP World Computer Congress in Montreal. It is important to "ensure digital inclusion of youth in the field of education, sciences, culture and communication" states the Declaration which is a contribution to the World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
This Information Release, distributed by UNESCO at an intergovernmental level, is a unique publicity act for IFIP and its activities and comes to show that the strategy agreed by the IFIP Executive Board in 1997 for proactive IFIP partnership with UNESCO bears fruits for the international community to harvest. Other recent developments relate to the IFIP-UNESCO Summit meeting in 2001 and IFIP's involvement in the UNESCO organized consultations for WSIS. The conclusion of UNESCO's recent evaluation of IFIP's input to its programs is: "During the period under consideration, IFIP has maintained excellent cooperation with the Communication and Information Sector and the Education Sector... With regard to its obligations as a partner admitted to formal relations, the Federation contributed to the sexennial report and replied to the Director-General's consultations on the C/4 and C/5 documents. Its collective cooperation was vigorous and highly appreciated. It took an active part in strengthening the mechanisms established by the 1995 Directives, in particular in its capacity as member of the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee, whose website it helped to create. Its interest in the impact of the new information technologies and the strengthening of cooperation with developing countries make it an essential partner in the implementation of the Organization's programmes in this field. Recommendation of the Director-General: Renewal of formal consultative relations."
In Montreal, the IFIP General Assembly (GA) welcomed the Youth Declaration and commended its recommendations to its member societies. IFIP is encouraged to continue teaming its efforts with UNESCO [ http://www.unesco.org ], the International Council for Science - ICSU [ http://www.icsu.org ] and other organizations for a coalition of professional partners to efficiently assist the WSIS agenda. Coincidentally, the recent announcement of the United States' return to UNESCO after an 18-year absence was welcomed by the UNESCO Director-General who said on 12 September: I believe the United States return to UNESCO supports effective reform and renewal within the multilateral system, affirming UNESCOs steady forward progress over the past years."
The issues of the Information Society and the Digital Divide are so great that no one is in a position to address them alone without a wide partnership network. IFIP, as a truly international multi-cultural non-governmental professional organization, is a part of that network. UNESCO is supportive of IFIP's efforts for the organization of WITFOR in August 2003 in Vilnius, Lithuania [ http://www.witfor.org ], organized under UNESCO auspices. ICSU would also provide input and has offered to assist links between WITFOR and WSIS [ http://www.itu.int/wsis/ ].
-------------------------------- Plamen Nedkov Executive Director, IFIP Hofstrasse 3, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria Tel: +43 2236 73616 Fax: +43 2236 736169 http://www.ifip.org/